**1/2 The Neon Judgement

DAZSOO

(Chipie/KK America)

Twelve years ago, the Neon Judgement contributed two death-dances, "Chinese Black" and "Miss Brown," to the founding of Belgian techno. Today, Jean-Marie Aert's operation sounds less deadly melodic (almost joyful at times), but no less seductive. Though Dazsoo's 11 songs feature enough of the scratchy effects of acid house ("Up in Flames" and "Dis Go On," for example) to allow Aert's label to file the CD under electronica, the focus here, as with all Belgian techno, is on a combination of highly orchestrated echo and a down-deep, rapid-fire house beat. Aert's signature style is to create tension, in a dark, guitar-inflected track such as "Hdrom Temptation," between languorous orchestration and hurried beat, keeping the dancer off balance and in suspense. In "Jazzbox," "O.R.P.," and "Mirror," the CD's three best cuts, Aert's distant, echo-distorted vocals pierce the gloom, gently reproaching the dancer for not being able to make up his mind. Unhappily, Aert feels the need, in "Turki" and "What a Day," to ape the styles of Transglobal Underground and Daft Punk.

-- Michael Freedberg